wait for Nforce 4?

[matt1976]

Im going to get an AMD 3500 cpu but money is tight, so wondering what system to get with it? basically there is not a whole lot of difference between pci express and agp systems (besides hooking up 2 graphic cards) at this point, right? is that because of software? or the pci express hardware needs better improvement? I mean I dont want to get an Nforce 4 now if they are going to make pci express a lot better hardware wise in the future. if its the software that will improve and then outrun agp, then ill get it. thanks for any replies

 

[pat]

Why not only a good socket 754 board and CPU since your going to stay with AGP..there is no real gain going from dual channel and a 754 3200+ is very close in performance to the 3500+ and cost way less. Check the thread about benchmark between socket 754 et 939. Money wise, that could be the best upgrade for now in your situation. For less than the 3500+ the 3400+ perform way better, being clocked at 2,4 GHz instead of 2.2 for the 3500+. Dual channel is not really worth it on AMD system.

-Always put the blame on you first, then on the hardware !!!

 

[endyen]

The bandwidth of 8X agp and 16 X pciexp are the same. Neither is able to use more than about 1/2 that, so nvidia decided to split PCIexp into 2 8X slots, and give us SLI.
At present, PCIexp does offer an advantage to people who use thier graphics card for TV recording/playback. The new bus is more bi-directional. For gaming etc agp 5X would be more than current cards can handle.

 

[retep]

I am having the same dilema in my PC decision making process. I realize that there is very little performance gain in going with a 939 motherboard, but I am finding that there is very few (if any) AGP graphics cards worth purchasing for ~$200. The graphics card market for PCI-X seems to be much better. I would like to purchase either an ATI X700 or a nvidia 6600 GT. I think I have only found 1 of these cards available in AGP form, on 1 website and it was like $60 more than the PCI-X version of the same card. Any thoughts on this?

Just for background, I am looking at purchasing an AMD 3200+ along with a compatable motherboard that supports SATA Raid, and I would like to spend no more than $200 for my video card.

Thanks,

-Peter

 

[endyen]

$200 should get you a radeon 9800pro, but it's xmas time. The guys in the graphics forum know what they are talking about, go there and start a thread.

 

[DrJeckyl]

He can get a 6600GT for $200...

-- the Doc

8PENXP(Rev.2)
P4 2.8C@3.4
512mb Mushkin 3500 Level II@472 (2-2-2)
R9800Pro@463/380
(grrrr.....I fried this one)
WD 80gb(SE)x2(RAID 0)

 

[retep]

Where can you get an AGP 6600 GT for around $200 dollars? Links?

 

[DrJeckyl]

<A HREF="http://www.buyxg.com/store/item.asp?key=vc-135-205" target="_new">here</A>, <A HREF="http://www.gameve.com/gve/store/ProductDetails.aspx?sku=VC-CHAIN-045" target="_new">here</A>, and <A HREF="http://www.z-buy.com/product.asp?item=VG-N368" target="_new">here</A> just for starters, but I would suggest <A HREF="http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-125-156&depa=0" target="_new">here</A> instead.
(newegg is a great vendor and they have several 6600GT's around the $200 range-- the gigabyte is pretty good)

Didn't realize you were looking for an AGP version of this card, but a few of the sites that I listed have the AGP versions for nearly the same price...perhaps $15 more.

-- the Doc

8PENXP(Rev.2)
P4 2.8C@3.4
512mb Mushkin 3500 Level II@472 (2-2-2)
R9800Pro@463/380
(grrrr.....I fried this one)
WD 80gb(SE)x2(RAID 0)<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by drjeckyl on 12/22/04 02:28 PM.</EM></FONT></P>